What A Hell Of A Way To Die
by FrankieAndHerTroubledTown
Summary: A feisty girl from Texas fights her way into the Paratroopers to escape her past. She finds compassion and love for the men of her company and gains comfort from one of them in particular.
1. An Officer, A Form and A Stamp

**An Officer, A Form and A Stamp**

She stood staring at the wall in front of her.

'Miss, you can't join the Army, let alone the Paratroopers. You're a girl.' The neat middle-aged man in front of her remarked. She could hear the smirk in his voice, and it made her blood boil.

'I'm glad you've noticed,' she spat back. 'But that's not about to stop me and neither are you. Sign the forms or you'll feel pain like you've never done before.' She gave the pompous fool a tight smile. Nobody was going to get in her way. This was her ticket out of this dump and some idiotic arse that followed the rules too well, was not going to stop her.

'Now now, Miss Derbyshire. No need to get aggressive. A bit feisty, aren't you? But threats are not getting you into the Paratroopers girly, so run along back to your cosy little kitchen,' he sniggered, brushing her carefully completed forms aside.

That was the last straw.

Spectators gasped in shock as the young woman launched herself across the desk, kicking his chair as she went, and knocked the Officer to the ground. Hauling him up by his collar, she slammed him against the wall she had earlier been inspecting and shoved her face in front of his. The man had an expression of shock etched upon his face, and a sheen of sweat ran down his forehead.

'So, as I was saying; I could break your nose, bet the wife wouldn't like that… or you could sign the Goddamn forms, and it'd be the last you hear from me.' The young woman spoke quietly, making her all the more menacing.

A resigned look spread across the Officer's face as he gave the girl a curt nod, whilst gesturing towards her forms that were now spread across the floor next to his desk.

'Good choice,' she murmured as she released him from her grip.

'I'm going to have to make a few adjustments to it though Miss, or you'll never even be considered.' He threw her a nervous glance, the confidence he flaunted earlier now gone.

'Do what you must, just get me in.'

She leaned over his shoulder, watching as he drew a line through the word 'female' and replaced it with 'male' in his neat scrawl. He then changed her name to 'Mr J Derbyshire.' After glancing over the rest of the form, he signed the bottom and stamped the administrator's box with 'approved' in bold red lettering.

The Officer looked up to see the strange young woman staring intently at the details on the page. On realizing that he had finished, she snapped out of her trance and stuck her hand out towards the confused man. On taking it, she pumped his hand up and down twice, before releasing. Turning on her heal, she marched towards the door. On reaching it she looked over and mouthed the words 'Thank you.' She received a respectful nod in return before pushing the doors to the outside world open.

She had done it.

She'd got through the first round of the fight.

She could be getting out of here at long last.

A squeal of joy pushed it's way through her lips and into the air around her.

The week that followed was pure torture. The waiting made her irritable to be around.

And then it came.

The letter that would change everything.

It read:

_Dear Mr J Derbyshire_

_I would like to congratulate you on your successful application to serve in the United States of America's Armed Forces. You are to serve in the 506__th__ Regiment of the 101__st__ Airborne. _

_Training will commence on 1__st__ June 1943 at Camp Toccoa in Georgia. You will need to arrange your own transportation. You are expected to be there at 0900 hours._

_Serve your country well._

_God bless America_

_Col. Sink_

Gripping the letter to her chest, the girl cried out in relief and pure joy. She was going to get out of the rut in which she had been stuck in for the past few years. She was getting out of here. She was going to be the best, with the best. 1st July was a week away, and she could not wait for that week to end.

**R&R's would be real nice, ta!**


	2. Well, Well, Well

_**Firstly: hi! I'm Frankie and I love BoB!**_

_**Secondly: Thanks to Crazyforkasey for my first review! It means a lot to me :) **_

**Well, Well, Well**

She travelled by train East to Georgia the night before and stayed in a cheap hotel, a mile away from the camp. There was bus that ran right past it, leaving at 8:30 the next morning. She would walk right off it into the gates of Camp Toccoa.

Excitement oozed from her every pore. A slight sensation of anxiousness had set in too. This was not a welcome feeling. Doubts crawled into the forefront of her mind, making her scrutinize her own behaviour.

_What if they don't let you stay?_ This thought drifted around her head like a kid on a merry-go-round; it kept on coming back for more. Deciding that she didn't want to think about it, she shoved the thoughts out of her brain and focused on calming her breathing. Crawling into the unfamiliar bed, she pulled the sheets over her head and drifted off into a calm slumber.

'BBBBBRRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!'

The cry of her alarm clock woke brought her back into consciousness. It had been a dreamless and pleasant sleep, but she was glad to be awake. Blinking in the daylight and the strange surroundings, she reminded herself where she was and what she was doing there. A smile slid easily onto her face as she leapt out of bed.

Today was to be the first day of her new life.

On arriving at Camp Toccoa, she was ushered into a large waiting room. She was early, and so was the first person there. She threw herself into a chair and slowly took in her surroundings, examining the white wash walls with an air of boredom. Col. Sink was to conduct individual interviews with each of the recruits that day – basic training wouldn't start until tomorrow.

She was wearing baggy, but smart, clothes; to hide her gender. She had scraped her hair back and pulled it underneath her hat. She had not had the heart to cut it, it was the only thing that she didn't mind about herself.

One by one, men started to fill the room around her. She smiled carefully at each of them, her eyes analyzing each of their faces as she stored them carefully into her memory. Reaching forward to introduce herself to the handsome man opposite, she was interrupted by the opening of the door at the end of the corridor.

Every man that was seated, sprung to their feet and craned their necks to catch their first glimpse of the infamous Col. Sink. Instead the sight of a very ordinary looking Corporal greeted them. He took a deep breath before addressing the men as a group.

'Thank you for attending and congratulations,' he paused. 'I will be calling you in one by one for a five minute interview with Col. Sink. You should have received details on this with your acceptance letters. This is nothing to be worried about,' unless you're a girl she thought to herself 'but is just to allow the Colonel to get to know you individually.' He inhaled deeply and then glanced down at the clipboard in front of him. 'First off; J Derbyshire.' His eyes swept around the room in anticipation.

_Oh shit_ she thought. She stepped forward feeling the eyes of her fellow recruits on her back. The Corporal held the door open for her. She gave him a small nod in her thanks, her heart thumping against her ribcage.

She glanced around the room and caught sight of a grey haired man, with a proud moustache casting a shadow over his lips and a lined face. She hesitated slightly before walking forward and standing before his desk. She could feel his gaze scrutinizing her as she stood staring at the wall behind his shoulder. And then he spoke.

'J Derbyshire, isn't it?' His voice was friendly, but had an edge to it. You did not want to cross this man.

'Yes Sir,' she replied, her voice sounding impossibly high and squeaky to her own ears.

'Well, Derbyshire, in my office you do not wear hats unless it happens to be an army issued one,' his words did not come out harshly, but they nevertheless made her freeze and cringe for a second. She hadn't anticipated the revealing of her gender so soon, she had hoped that she would have time to prove her worth before it happened. Slowly reaching towards her head, she peeled off the offending item, freeing her long hair, letting it tumble down her back. She winced quietly at the change in his expression.

She was for it now, she could tell.

Fearing the worst, she was confused to hear a throaty chuckle escape from the Colonel's lips. He threw his head back and roared with laughter.

She just stood there in complete exasperation. She had not expected this at all. The Colonel sighed as his laughter subdued and he took a quick sip of the water in front of him. He then turned his attention back to the serious looking girl in front of him, and waved her into a seat.

'Well. That was a surprise Miss. How on earth did you get here?' He asked in total bemusement.

'I may have threatened a couple of people and given them a little bit of… untruthful information.' She said with a guilty smile.

'Ah. I presume that you are Miss Derbyshire then, or was that part of your misinformation?' He seemed genuinely interested in her situation and eager to learn more.

'It's my real name Sir. My name is Joanna Derbyshire.' She saw no reason to lie to this man.

'You do know that you're not allowed to be here Miss Derbyshire? I can not allow you to train with those men.' He said slowly. He was sure that she knew this, but wanted to clarify it, for himself as well.

'But Sir, I want to be her so badly. I can promise that I want this more than all those men out there put together! Who cares about gender? I want to fight for my country, surely that's good enough?' She was desperate to make him understand. She was not leaving. Not after what she had gone through to get there.

'You argue a good case Miss, but it's simply against the rules.' He looked almost as sorry as she felt. She could feel that she was close to winning him over though.

'But what if nobody knew,' she murmured quietly, almost to herself.

'Excuse me?'

'What if nobody knew I was a girl?' She said, more audibly this time. 'You could just put me down as a male on all the official reports, and then deny any knowledge of it, if questioned. No-one would even know! Please Sir, just let me do my bit.' She sat opposite from him looking vulnerable, but strong at the same time. She stared at her shoes and her toes were tracing patterns on the floor. His heart went out to the girl.

And the heart always wins over the head.

'Alright Soldier, but there is one condition. You must complete four weeks of basic training before you are to become know to the men. I will assess your progress at the end of each week to make sure that you are keeping up to scratch. If at the end of the four weeks, you are up to the standard I want my soldiers to be at, you can stay. Until then you are not to make any contact with the men. Do I make myself clear?' He said the words sternly, but Joanna could tell that he was struggling to keep the smile off his face.

'Thank you so much Sir,' she said as she leapt to her feet. 'I won't let you down, Sir, I promise,' she gushed, beaming from ear to ear.

'Well, you have a lot to try for Miss Derbyshire. I wish you the very best of luck.' The man said, sticking his hand out to her over the desk. Taking it she smiled and shook it with pride.

'Now get to work, you have tough times ahead young lady,' he smiled as she pushed her hair back into her hat and strode back towards the door.

Joanna couldn't believe her luck.

She had done it.

Nothing was going to stop her now.

**Thanks for reading**

**Any comments you may have, please click the review button and tell me - I'm all ears :)**


	3. The Worst Mountain In The World

**Firstly: Welcome back! **

**Secondly: Thank you to .77 for the review, it made me smile :)**

**The Worst Mountain In The World**

'Now you, young lady, are going to run Currahee twice. Bet you wish you'd stayed in the kitchen now eh Derbyshire?' Sobel screamed into Joanna's face. She stared blankly over his shoulder. Week one of basic training had been hell, she had barely got through it unscathed. Now, nearing the end of her second week, her skin had become impervious to Sobel's sexist remarks, and her body had started to become hardened to the strain she was putting it through.

'No Sir.' She shouted in reply. _No I do not want to go back to the bloody kitchen, _she added in her head.

'Well then girly, I want that mountain ran twice in 40 minutes, or you'll have to run it again in full kit.' He smirked into her face. Man she wanted to punch him right now.

Joanna had been fit before she had started training, and this had improved even more so over the last couple of weeks, but she knew that she could just about run Currahee once in 40 minutes, never mind twice. She knew that Sobel was aware of this and silently cursed him for being the bastard that he was.

'Yes Sir.' She shouted and waited to be dismissed.

'What are you waiting for you useless little girl. No one's going to get you a golden carriage pulled by ponies.' Sobel taunted. Breaking off into a run, Joanna called the vile man as many names as she could think of under her breath.

The beginning was always the easiest part of the run, the incline didn't start immediately steep, but as you neared the top, it became a killer for even the fittest of people.

As she reached out to the top pillar, which marked the highest part of the mountain, for the second time Joanna tripped on a stone and fell forward. Pulling herself up, she felt a shooting pain surge through her ankle. She had twisted it, but ignored the pain and set off running again. She could feel the blood trickling down her shin from a large gash on her left knee, but she didn't dare stop to take a look. Half hobbling, half running she broke free from the trees and into the main training grounds. She came to a stop just in front of Sobel, who was tapping his foot on the ground and checking his watch. His eyes moved from the watch to Joanna's slight body. He let his gaze linger just long enough to let Joanna know that he was checking her out, before finally speaking.

'Looks like Princess had got a cut on her knee. It also looks like she took an hour and a half to do the run, when she was instructed to do it in 40 minutes!' His voice had begun quiet, but had now risen to a full on shout. Joanna didn't react. She simply stared over his shoulder.

'So, Princess. You know the deal. Full kit on. You run it again. NOW!'

As she reached to salute him, he kicked her feet from underneath her, causing her to yelp in pain. She had landed on her bad ankle. Sobel chuckled softly to himself. He knelt down and stuck his face in front of hers.

'You see Derbyshire, I'm in charge round here. You, on the other hand, are nothing. An you do not belong here. Hear that? You. Do. Not. Belong. Here' He paused. 'So. I want you to pack your things up and quit. Right now.'

Joanna lifted her head from her chest and looked her tormentor straight in the eye.

'Sorry Sir. I was just gettin' real comfy round here. I reckon I should stay a bit, make the most of your company you know? But thanks for the offer.' She gave him a tight smile. The Captain was stunned.

Joanna picked herself off the floor for the second time that day, saluted Sobel, and limped back towards her hut. She emerged five minutes later in full kit and started to run up her least favourite mountain in the world.

After reporting back to Sobel, Joanna hobbled back towards her hut, intent on getting some shut-eye before the next day started. Before she could reach the door a voice called out to her.

'Soldier,' a soft Cajan voice filled the air.

_Shit shit shit_ she thought to herself. She still had two weeks of training before she was allowed to interact with the men. She still had her helmet perched on her head from the run, with her hair was tucked back into it. She was also wearing her baggy combat jacket and trousers.

Deciding that she could pass for a man, she turned to face a man with dark hair, pale skin, and deep chocolate eyes. She nearly gasped in awe. This man was beautiful in so many ways, and it made her feel plain in compare.

'Soldier?' His voice brought her back to her senses. Shaking her head slightly she replied.

'And what can I do for you…?' She paused searching for his name, but could not read it due to the darkness surrounding them.

'Eugene Roe. Erm… it was actually more what can I do for you. You seem to be limping real bad on that foot of yours' He said uncertainly, gesturing towards the offending ankle.

'Oh. It's nothing, I've just twisted it, that's all.' She said, waving him off. She would get in serious trouble if Col. Sink heard of her encounter. She started to glance around, looking for an excuse to leave.

'I'd be mighty pleased if you'd just let me do my job and make sure Private…' He searched her frowning face.

'Derbyshire.'

Trying her best to look disgruntled, Joanna rolled up her trousers slightly and pulled off her shoe and sock. Even she could tell it was badly twisted, as it had swollen and bruised already. The man in front of her laid his hands on it and probed gently.

'Shhhhhhhh…' Joanna hissed in pain.

Roe reached into his pocket and pulled out a bandage. He wrapped it tightly around her ankle wordlessly. On finishing he watched his fellow soldier pull on their boot. He inspected them closely and decided that this man had a very feminine look, but as it wasn't possible to have a girl in the Paratroopers, he came to the conclusion that he was just a pretty boy. Keeping his thoughts to himself. Eugene gave the soldier a hand up. Smiling gratefully, the strange soldier thanked the medic and wished him a good night.

Joanna exhaled heavily with relief. That was close. Pushing open the door to her hut, she threw her helmet onto the bed and stumbled into the shower. Too exhausted to remember her bad ankle, she put her full weight on it. Growling in pain she gritted her teeth. She grabbed a t-shirt ands some shorts and tugged them on, before rolling into bed. Needless to say, she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

_Two weeks later. Day 28 of 28_

Joanna had been put through extreme mental and physical test all day, under the watchful eye of Col. Sink. Today was assessment day, and it was the last of the exercises. All she had to do, was run to the top of Currahee and back as fast as she could.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

She set off at a fast pace driving herself to go faster and faster. She neared the top and smiled in relief. Slapping her hand on the cold slab of stone, she turned and charged back towards the training area. Seeing the end of the trail, she picked up the pace even more and sprinted back towards the Colonel and Sobel. Col. Sink scribbled something onto a piece of paper, and then looked down at the panting girl in front of him. She glanced up and met his eyes, and she could have sworn she saw him wink at her. Pulling herself into a standing position, she sneaked a quick glance at Sobel. He had a face like thunder.

'Well Private Derbyshire, you have more than met my criteria for my soldiers, I doubt that most of the men could achieve some of the results you produced today.' He smiled proudly at her. 'I gives me great pleasure to inform you that you are now officially a member of E Company, of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airbourne. Very well done indeed.'

Joanna's face cracked into a huge smile.

'Thank you Sir.'

'Now don't let me down. Collect your things and report to hut 27 at 0900 hours tomorrow morning, I believe they have a spare bed.' With that he saluted the delighted young woman and went in search of a good cup of coffee.

**Thank you very much for reading, I'm really enjoying writing about this character and I hope you are enjoying her too!**

**Please do review, all feedback is much appreciated**

**Currahee**

**Frankie**


	4. When The Girl Met Her Guys

**Thanks to all those that are reading and reviewing, it means the world to me!**

**When The Girl Met Her Guys**

Feeling excited, but nervous, Joanna made her way to Hut 27 carrying all of her possessions. It was silent. She had arrived perfectly on time, as asked to be by Col. Sink. Sobel kept her waiting for 20 minutes before appearing to let her in. He unlocked the door and threw the key at her. He didn't say a word, but left her to it with nothing more than a look of contempt and disgust.

The hut was empty of breathing bodies. Joanna walked slowly but purposefully down the room, the echoing sound of her footstep's her only company. She carried on until she found a bed that didn't have personal possessions scattered around it. Throwing her things down on the blanketed mattress, she inspected her living space. There was a small metal bedside table, and a matching, large locker to the left of the bed. She opened the locker wide and inspected it's interior, mentally organizing where her possessions would fit. She then set about the task of unpacking and repacking her things into their new homes.

She was tucking the last of her socks onto the top shelf when the door swung open and a noisy group of men bundled into the room. They fell silent when they noticed the slight frame of a woman at the end of their dorm.

No one spoke for what felt like years.

'Phwoooot' one of the men let out a low whistle. On this Joanna turned to face the small crowd of ten men. She stood carefully at the side of her bed waiting for a reaction.

And then came the muttering.

The men were elbowing each other to make sure they weren't seeing things. Before them, stood a woman with pale skin and light brown hair, which was pulled back off her face into a messy bun. Bright blue eyes twinkled in reflection of the light rays seeping through the windows. Her rosy red lips stood out against the pale contours of her face. She was about 5 foot 5 inches, slim with lean muscles and in her very early twenties. She was as pretty as a picture. The men wondered what she was doing in the middle of an army training camp.

After a while, it became clear to Joanna that she would have to be the one to break the ice this time.

'Morning boys. I'm Private Derbyshire and yes, I'm a fucking broad,' her ending remark earned her a couple of chuckles. None of them had expected the crude language that escaped her lips.

'I knew it,' that Cajan voice hit her like a punch in the face. Eugene Roe stepped to the front of the group and looked her up and down once – just once, his Mama had taught him to be respectful.

'You were way too feminine to be a man,' he closed the very obvious gap between Joanna and the group and shook her hand, his gaze studying her face the whole time.

'Thanks for the foot, Roe, couldn't have done Currahee without it.' She flashed him a bright smile, which he warmly returned. Joanna decided that she very much liked this charming man.

By now a couple of the other men had started to come to their senses.

'Wait. You mean to say, you've run up Currahee?' a slim, pale-faced man stepped forward, eyeing her with disbelief.

'Yeah. I have. Why wouldn't I have… I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch your name' Joanna shot back haughtily. _Who did the guy think he was?_ She thought to herself. She got enough sexist remarks from Sobel, she didn't need the men she was to be serving with to join in as well.

'Hey Miss, I didn't mean nothin' by it; I was just shocked, you know? It's not every day a fine looking gal like yourself runs up and down a mountain. The names Liebgott; Joe Liebgott. Feel free to call me Lieb though.' He ran his hand nervously through his shock of dark hair and then stuck it out to Joanna. She took it and sealed her forgiveness with a firm shake.

She finally surveyed the rest of the group, recognizing most of them from her brief encounter with them before her meeting with Col. Sink. And core blimey had she landed herself a group of nice looking fellas. She grinned inwardly; maybe the next few months weren't going to be so bad after all.

She opened her mouth to introduce herself to the rest of the group when the door swung open, and a devilishly handsome man interrupted her. _I think I'm in heaven_ Joanna swooned. With a strong build, short dark hair and playful eyes, it was all she could do to stop her jaw from dropping in astonishment.

'What's the problem ladies? We've got PT, and I ain't gonna be the one to take the punishment just because you lazy sons-of-bitches can't be fucked to-' He stopped mid sentence as he caught sight of the stunning young woman stood behind Liebgott.

'Jesus Christ Joe, you could have told me you snuck a dame in,' he grinned at his own joke, his South Philly accent full of amusement, as he glanced around the room waiting for a reaction from his comrades. They merely shook their heads at him and lowered their eyes to the ground.

'What? Was it somethin' I said?' He looked confused.

Joanna sighed and stepped forward.

'It would have been funny if it wasn't for the fact that I'm the newest addition to Easy Company, and your new roommate,' she threw him a grim look. _Just another stupid sexist pig_ she thought to herself.

'To hell you are. Nice one Joe – you nearly had me there. The girl was a nice touch.' The man chuckled.

Eugene Roe stepped forward, deciding to rescue his friend before he made a real mess of the situation.

'Bill, she really is one of us. I've patched her up already when she twisted her ankle a couple of weeks back. She was in full kit as I did it. No joke this time' He smiled grimly, patting his friend on the shoulder as he walked past to find his PT kit.

'Well… I'll be damned,' the stunned looking soldier muttered. He reached forward to shake Joanna's hand in apology. 'I'm awfully sorry Miss, me and my Goddamn mouth.' He flashed her an uneasy smile.

'It's alright Bill – is it alright if I call you that? Oh, and stop calling me Miss you lot! I'm one of you, not your fucking Grandma. The name's Joanna and I'd like it if you put it to good use.' The group relaxed slightly, and one by one the men came forward to introduce themselves. All except one.

'Hey, what's his problem?' She asked the guy that had introduced himself as George Luz.

'Don't you mind him Joanna. He's the most prejudiced son of a bitch you'll ever meet in your entire life – other than Sobel of course. His name's Cobb.'

Joanna shrugged and carried her PT kit into a large bathroom at the end of the hut. She stripped and re-clothed herself quickly. She once again cursed Sobel for the tightness of her top and the length of her shorts. She was sure she did it on purpose. Tugging at her shorts, she snuck back into the main dorm unnoticed and began folding her uniform into a neat pile at the end of her bed. She glanced around the room and caught the soldier named Cobb staring at her butt from the other end of the room.

Joanna completely lost it.

She stormed down the room and grabbed the pathetic excuse for a man by his t-shirt. Slamming his back into the lockers she snarled into his face.

'What you lookin' at? You thinkin' you want a piece of this? Well, let me tell you something you sniveling little creep. You couldn't get this even if I was fucking dead. You couldn't even get the ugliest looking woman in the world, no matter how hard you tried! If I catch you looking at my butt again, you'll be joining the female half of the population. You got that?' She slammed him into the lockers again to emphasize her point.

'Yes,' the man whimpered.

Letting him go, she realized that the room had gone silent. She looked around to see the men staring at her with looks of total respect and disbelief. Her hair had started to fall out of its band, so with a _huff_ she pulled it out and walked out of the door. Standing on the steps outside the hut she retied her hair and joined the group of soldiers that had begun to form on the grass in front of a hut, a couple of feet down the makeshift road between the huts. She found herself standing behind a tall, ginger-haired man and silently listed the ways she was going to kill Cobb.

She heard the slam of a door as the men from hut 27 piled out. She felt ten hands pat her shoulder as the men walked past to fall into formation. She smiled to herself.

'Derbyshire. What the hell do you have to smile about?' Came the sharp bark of Captain Sobel.

'Nothin' Sir,' _well not any more in any case, _Joanna replied.

'Good. Now get down and give me push-ups until I finish giving orders,' Sobel practically screamed at her.

_Oh brilliant, this is gonna be a real fun part of my life_ Joanna contemplated as she dropped to the ground. Naturally Sobel took his time on instructing the men to run up Currahee. By the time he had finished Joanna's arms felt like they were on fire.

As they set off up the mountain Joanna could feel the stares of all the men behind her focusing on her butt. She couldn't do anything about it without getting reprimanded by Sobel, so she ignored them as best as she could. The pace the formation was keeping was much slower than Sobel had made her run on her own, and so when he ordered for the formation to break up and for every man to 'run for himself' she happily obeyed. The men couldn't believe what they were seeing as the small girl glided past them, barely out of breath. She saw the look of disgust on Sobel's face as she slapped her hand against the slab first. She turned and grinned to herself, slapping hands with the ten guys from her hut as she passed them on her way down.

She stood waiting at the bottom, congratulating the men as they stumbled in behind, earning herself a lot of respect as she did so.

'Jeesh Joanna, you gave us guys what for then!' Toye remarked as he clapped her shoulder.

'Well I can't have you guys thinking I'm a useless broad now, could I?' She replied, a permanent grin plastered onto her face.

'Oi! Derbyshire! You comin' to the bar with us tonight?' Perconte chipped in from across the crowd.

'You can bet your bottom dollar I am!'

She turned to walk back to her hut, but was stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun round to face the tall red-haired man she had been standing behind earlier. Next to him stood a totally gorgeous man with the deepest and darkest eyes she had ever seen. _I really did cash in all my lucky points! Another lovely looking man to get to know._ Joanna stopped her thoughts in their tracks, ashamed of her own behaviour, even if no one knew what she was thinking.

'Hello, I'm 2nd Lieutenant Winters, and this is 2nd Lieutenant Nixon.' Winters spoke softly, but with conviction.

'Pleased to meet you Sirs. I'm Joanna Derbyshire,' she smiled warmly at the two men, and received genuine smiles in return.

'We just wanted to welcome you to Easy Company and to let you know where we are if you have any problems that you would like to discuss with either of us,' Nixon added. Joanna couldn't help put notice that he looked like a cat that had just got the cream, and she couldn't understand why.

'Thank you very much Sirs, I'm sure I won't have to take you up on your offer though, the guys have been real nice and welcoming so far. Anyways, I best be on my way, but I guess I'll be seeing you around.' She saluted them both and started to walk away.

'Oh and Joanna call me Lew or Nix, it gets real awkward being called Sir all the time,' Nixon shouted into the dark.

'Yes Sir – I mean Nix' she shouted back, chuckling to herself. She could hear Winters laughing at his friends brashness.

She felt at home already in her Easy Company.

**Thanks to all of you lovely people who are reading my story so far. I know you hear it a lot- but please review, I've had over a 100 people read my story so far but only five have reviewed! It really does mean a lot to us writers!**

**Currahee**

**Frankie**


	5. The Good, The Bad and the Plain Awful

**Thanks to all my followers and all of the reviews.**

**The Good, The Bad and the Plain Awful**

_Joanna had_ been an official part of Easy Company for just over three weeks, and she was loving every single second of it. Over these weeks she had picked up her fair share of nicknames, as well as bad habits. The men of Easy Company were shocked by her achievement of beating Nixon in a drinking contest on that first night, and she had been crowned Easy Company's favourite alcoholic, despite the fact that she only drank whilst out with the boys.

'Oi. Joanie. Wake up!' she felt a boot hit her back as she was woken from her peaceful slumber.

'Piss of Guarnere, it's our day off' she grumbled to her neighbour. Joanna's bed was situated at the very end of the dorm, to the left of Bill's and opposite Lipton's. She rolled over to see her friend's cheeky face grinning back at her. Her sheets were tangled between her legs and her tank top had risen in her sleep, so her stomach lined with toned muscles was clearly visible. They weren't clumpy muscles as per say, but they were the kind you didn't have to tense to see that they were there. All the men agreed that she made them look real foxy.

'Yeah, I know that. I just thought I'd let you know how mighty fine you're lookin' this morning,' he giggled to himself.

'Ha-fucking-ha,' she snapped as she threw the boot at his head. It bounced off it with a satisfying thud, and Bill did his best to look hurt, but ended up erupting into laughter instead.

'Get out of here you two! Can't you see a guy trying to get some sleep over here?' Perconte shouted across the room.

Rolling her eyes Joanna slid out of bed and stretched her back out with her hands reaching out towards the ceiling.

'Bill, if your jaw drops any lower, it'll land in the centre of the earth.' Joanna teased him.

'Just admiring the view kid,' he said with a wink, before turning over to resume his previous state of unconsciousness.

'Not so easy buster! You've woken me up, and now you're coming on a morning run with me,' she said, tugging her friend out of bed by his arm.

'For Christ's sake Joanie, it's seven in the frickin' morning and we have the day off. I ain't fucking runnin' anywhere!' he exclaimed.

'It's your own fault dumbass, now lets go!' she retorted, pulling on her boots and padding into the bathroom. She ran a hand threw her hair before pulling it into a band. Today was the first day she'd had off since she'd arrived – and she wasn't letting it go to waste. She pulled on a new pair of shorts and a clean t-shirt before re-entering. Bill had opted with sleeping and was dead to the world. She smiled at the sight of the sleeping men and she knew that it wouldn't be long before she loved them with all the compassion her stony heart could muster. She was sure they loved her already. She was the third Joe of the group and they had bonded to become the three musketeers. She shared a wicked sense of humour and her love of pranking with George, Don and Frank. In Carwood and Johnny she had found loyalty, and in Randllman respect. In Roe she had found the ability to believe again and in good old Bill she had re-found her love of laughter. She had so much to thank these men for and she knew that this would bind them together for the rest of their lives. And yet all of them looked vulnerable and almost innocent in their sleep.

_Joanna ran_ around the perimeter of the camp before returning to her now wide-awake group, drenched in sweat.

'Alright boys? Sweet dreams was it, you lazy sods,' she joked with the men.

'Only 'cause I was dreamin' about you sweetheart.' Liebgott winked at her.

'If me and Toye didn't need you for a full set of musketeers, you'd be dead Joey!' she shot back. He knew she didn't mean it. They'd learnt to judge her mood by now, and her morning run had done her the world of good.

Joanna took her time in the shower; she figured that she earned it. The men had found a sheet and made a makeshift shower block for her, so she had some privacy from prying eyes. She took extra time washing her hair as the bar had decided to set up a civvies night and she wanted to shock the boys.

By the time she'd finished up, the men had left on some kind of adventure, so Joanna found herself pulling a battered old guitar out of a hiding place in her locker. She tuned it and marveled at its tone, like she had done so, so many times before. She started off finger picking chords and built on songs she'd tried to write when times were tough. It wasn't long before her humming grew to singing. She was so wrapped up in herself, she didn't hear the man approach her.

'Now where does a young girl from Texas learn to sing and play like that?' the smooth voice echoed around the room. Joanna sprang up from her perch on the end of her bed.

'Jesus Nix! Don't sneak up on people like that. Fucking moron!' Joanna immediately took the offensive. No one even knew she had brought the guitar with her, let alone that she could play.

'Christ doll, I was offering you a compliment. Would you just calm it?' Nixon was obviously stung by her harsh words. So Joanna backed down.

'I'm real sorry Sir, you just made me jump that's all.' Joanna offered him a smile.

'Don't call me Sir. Jesus Jo, I'm not the Colonel,' Nixon pouted, trying his best to be angry.

'Aw Nix, you know I don't mean it. I just get real catty sometimes,' she shoved her guitar back into it's hiding place and walked towards the door. 'Now come one, I'll walk you to your hut, but then this soldier has to have some time to turn herself into a lady,' she winked at him, linking arms.

'A lady you say? Well when you find her, send her my way,' Lew replied. Joanna gave him a well-earned thump on his shoulder and they fell into a companionable silence.

'Hey Jo, you gonna be a full time lady when we end the war?' Nixon enquired.

'Nix, shut the hell up! I'm having the time of my shitty life. I don't want to think about what's coming next.' Joanna left him at his door and then wandered around the grounds to kill some time.

_It was_ 1900 hours and the boys had already left to hit the bar. Joanna checked her reflection for the last time and altered her dress slightly. Giving herself a satisfied nod, she slipped on her only of pair of heels and made her way towards the mess building, where the bar was situated. She didn't go to find her group straight away, but went to order her beer first.

'Oi, Toye! Who's the gorgeous lookin' broad that just walked in?' Luz queried.

'How the heck should I know?' Toye remarked. They both let out whistles of appreciation. This caught the attention of the rest of the men who immediately started to check the girl out. At the bar stood a thin young woman in a knee-length red dress with long brown curls cascading down her back. She turned round and started to walk over to them, causing Talbert to choke on his drink.

'Evenin' fellas. Stick your tongues back in your mouths. You'd think you'd never seen a girl before in your life!' Joanna plonked herself down into a chair next to Lipton who was finding some amusement in the men's exasperated faces.

'Jo? When the hell did you get so beautiful gal?' Lieb was still blinking in shock.

'I gotta let my hair down sometimes boys! It's called make up Joe, you should try it sometime,' she said with a wink. She downed half of her glass in one and then smacked it down onto the table. This brought the men back to her senses and it wasn't long before conversation started to flow again. A piano quintet had started up in the background and Joanna felt herself swaying in time to the music. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Col. Sink's figuring looming over her.

'May I have this dance Ma'am?' he asked.

'It would be my absolute pleasure Sir.' Joanna rose and followed the older man onto the floor. She took his left hand in her right and placed her left hand lightly on his shoulder. They moved slowly in time to the music and Joanna felt herself relaxing and enjoying herself.

'Private, I'm very proud of you. You keep doing what you're doing and you'll go far,' Col. Sink said as the piece came to an end.

'Thank you Sir. Thank you for everything,' She smiled and stepped away from him. Spotting Nixon and Winters in a quiet corner, she walked over to join them.

'So Lew, I told that girl where you were, but she said she'd pass, so I thought I'd come and say hello instead.' Nixon spat his drink all over Winters and his eyes grew wide. Winters laughed in astonishment.

'Nix, that was a huge waste of good whisky, that's not like you at all! Lieutenant Winters could I tempt you to a dance?'

'I don't see why not, seen as though Nix is a little bit tongue-tied at the minute.' He said, taking her hand and leading her to the dance floor. They glided around the room, chatting like old friends. Joanna tried to ignore how attractive she was finding Dick, but was finding it increasingly hard the longer she danced with him. When the song had ended they made their way back to Lewis who had finally gotten over the huge transformation of the girl that stood before him compared to the soldier he had been bantering with only hours earlier.

'Well Joanna, you scrub up real good for a girl from Texas.' Joanna shot him a look before accompanying him to the bar to get the next round in. As Nixon paid, Joanna hauled Dick to his feet and sat him down in between Lipton and Martin.

'Time to lighten up Richard, you can't work all the time,' she said before going back to help Nixon with the drinks.

'You moved Dick? He's gonna have a cow!' Nixon laughed at the hold the young girl had over his friend.

'Yeah well he needs to lighten up, he's earned the men's respect and now he needs to get to know them on their level. He's going to make a brilliant Captain one day, and then he'll have me to thank for it,' Joanna evaluated. They placed the drinks on the table and Nixon pulled her onto the floor for her third dance of the evening. When it ended she did something she had never done before to any of the men. She pulled him into a tight hug.

'Thanks Nix for showing me how to have a good time,' she released him and without looking back she walked over to the table and downed her vodka in one.

'Right. Who's next?'

The hours ticked on and Joanna had danced with nearly every single man in the room by twelve o'clock. At twelve on the dot Bill took her hand and led her onto the dance floor. Most of the guy's hands had gone wandering during their dances, but not Bill's. He held her carefully, but tightly and close to his body. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed in contentment. She didn't want this evening to end. The song came to a close and she reached onto her tiptoes and kissed the soldier on his cheek. She then proceeded to kiss all the men on her table, in a show of unusual affection. She made her way round the table and her eyes landed on Lieutenant Winters. Running on pure alcohol she grabbed his face between her hands and planted an over-the-top kiss on his lips. His face was bright red with shock and embarrassment, and Joanna couldn't quite believe her own behaviour.

'First time for everything Winters!' she said with a wink. 'Night boys. Just remember that I love all of you equally, so no squabbling over who got the best kiss.' Feeling all-merry she waved her hand in farewell and set off back towards her hut. She had just about stepped through the door of the mess area when a hand grabbed her wrist and slammed her into the wall.

'I thought you looked extremely lovely tonight Joanna,' came the voice that made her skin crawl. She struggled against his tight grip. 'Now, now. Don't fight me little girl,' he said forcing himself upon her. She felt a hand sneak up her leg.

Joanna saw red.

She smashed her head forward and felt it connect with the man's nose, which made him loosen his grip in shock. She pulled her hands free and punched him so hard, she felt the skin covering her knuckles split. The man stumbled back, but not before he landed a punch of his own. Joanna felt her lip burst and snarled in pain. She began to escape when he tripped her over and she fell face first back through the bar doors.

The room fell silent.

She could feel the gaze of a hundred men on her back. She picked herself up and felt the blood seep down her face from a cut above her eyebrow and her split lip. She made her way to the bar, leaned over and picked up the biggest bottle of whiskey she could find.

'Put it on Nix's tab,' she mumbled to the barman as she slunk back through the doors. Opening the bottle as she went, Joanna kicked her heels off and walked in no particular direction.

She had gotten two thirds of the way through the bottle before anyone found her.

'You going to tell your old pal Nix what happened back there?' came a soothing voice. The bottle narrowly missed his head before it smashed to the ground behind him.

'Good shot,' he commented.

'I missed,' she slurred.

'What happened?' he repeated.

'The fucking army happened Nix! Some guy thought it would be real swell to have a go at the girl. What gives him the fucking right? I worked harder for this than any of you. I'm not even supposed to fucking well be here. I take one evening off and pretend that everything's good and look what happens. I'm sick of it Nix! Nothing ever comes good for me.' She screamed at him. She didn't know that most of her hut was standing around the corner.

'I'm gonna kill the sick bastard,' Bill spat, and all the guys nodded in agreement. They watched as Nixon reached out and took his friend into his arms. She didn't cry and she didn't react, she just stood there and let him hold her, more because she thought that it would comfort him, more than herself.

**Thanks for reading guys! It would be really nice of you to give me a quick review! Thanks!**

**Currahee**

**Frankie**


	6. Concern Is Overrated

**Hey guys, just a short one really to fill the gaps. A quick thanks to all my followers and reviewers, but especially to .77 who has supported me all the way so far.**

**Concern Is Overrated**

And then she fell forward.

Nixon still had his arms around her and felt her start to slip towards the ground. He acted quickly. Gathering her unconscious body in his arms he charged towards hut 27. Joanna would be in deep trouble if Sink caught wind of the happenings of this evening, so he took her to Eugene.

He kicked open the door to find the men gathered in a circle in the centre of the room, in deep conversation.

'Roe, I need your help,' Nixon pleaded. Eugene leapt up and was at his side almost instantly.

'Lay her down here,' he gestured towards the bed closest to them. Nixon lowered her down as gently as he could and stood aside to let the medic take over. He watched anxiously as the man took her pulse and felt her head.

'She's fine Lew. My guess is that she passed out from the amount of alcohol she consumed, and who could blame her for that? She'll be fine, but will wake with a nasty headache in the morning. I'll fix that cut of hers as soon as she regains consciousness.' He patted Nixon on the shoulder in reassurance; he understood how much the man cared for the sleeping woman.

'What… happened to her? She was so happy and then she appeared up like this,' Bill stepped forward, eager for answers.

'My understanding is that someone tried to… how do I put this? Erm… someone tried a little hanky panky, for want of a better term, with out girl and when she refused, he decided to slap her around a bit. That's all I could get from her in any case, she wouldn't tell me anything else. I'm really sorry Bill,' Nixon suddenly looked really old and exhausted. His face was lined with worry and a sadness that mirrored the faces of many of the men in the room with him. Bill walked round him and crouched beside Joanna's unconscious body. After hesitating for a second, he took her hand in his and watched as his large hand swallowed her tiny one up almost instantly. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

'Did she say who did this?' Liebgott asked taking her other hand.

'No. I didn't, but I broke his nose, so you guys will sure as hell know in the mornin',' came a groggy voice. Pulling her hands free, she sat up quickly and swung her legs off the bed. Her head spun and the room started to swing, but she ignored it.

'Jo love, don't you think you should rest?' Lipton was being sensible as per usual, and Joanna knew it, but didn't want to be told what to do. She was unbelievably angry all of a sudden with these men who loved her, and she couldn't explain why.

'Oh piss off! All of you! I'm not a baby, and I can look after myself!' She roared. As if to prove it, she stood up and walked to her bed. She could barely stop herself from collapsing in a heap on the bed. No longer caring, she pulled off her tights and stripped off her dress. The men averted their eyes. They had all thought about her in some way or other like this, but none of them had the heart to sneak a glance. No one should gain pleasure whilst she was in such pain, even if she wouldn't admit to being in pain. She threw on a long shirt and curled herself up into a ball.

Nobody moved for some time. Then they all rose simultaneously and got ready for bed. She heard the door shut and she presumed that Nixon had left. As the room grew silent once more, a small voice cut through the air.

'Eugene?' she almost whispered.

'Yeah?'

'Could you come and stitch my head up for me? It's bleedin' again.' She heard him shuffle around as he searched for his aid kit and then a clunk as a lamp was switched on next to her. He sat facing her and ran a damp towel across the cut.

'It isn't too deep, but it does need a couple of stitches to help it to close.' He reached into his bag and pulled out a needle, thread and a morphine syringe.

'I don't need the morphine Eugene. I've drunk so much I don't think I could feel someone shoot me right now. I'm too numb.' Eugene grunted in response and threaded his needle. The girl didn't flinch as he stuck it through her skin. He finished and dabbed her cut with alcohol to sterilize it.

'Thanks Doc,' she said, rolling away from him.

'No problem,' he mumbled. He switched her light off and let her be.

By four am, everyone was awake again. Except Joanna. She was flailing in her sleep and mumbling to herself.

'No… no… I'm sorry daddy… I didn't mean it… please… stop…please' the whole room was silent and frozen in empathy. They were witnessing the rawest amount of fear that any of them had ever experienced, and a girl who was scared of nothing or nobody was producing it. Or this is what they had thought.

'Don't… NO!' she moaned, her body writhing and convulsing as though she was trying to escape some invisible force.

She suddenly sat bolt upright, wide-awake. She knew they were awake and that they had heard her, and she was so embarrassed, she couldn't even begin to comprehend it. She got out of bed and pulled some shorts and her boots on. Her head pounded, she felt sick and her skin was slick with sweat. She had never felt so disgusting. She grabbed Bill's jacket and headed outside. Shrugging the jacket on, she searched the pockets and found of packet of cigarettes and a lighter. She stuck a smoke in her mouth and lit up for the first time in her life. She inhaled the smoke deeply and felt it envelope her lungs. She had not had nightmares in months. She hadn't seen or heard from her father for over a year. She touched her face and let her fingers trace the lines of her cut. She knew that this was the cause of her returning horrors. She had joined the army to get away from her fears. It suddenly struck her, and she understood why she was so angry with the men. Some small part of her had thought that they could protect her from everything the world threw at her. She now understood that they could not protect her from the desires of one of their own, and this made her sad and disappointed in herself for making herself so vulnerable. She had vowed never to become vulnerable again, over a year ago, and she had broken the only promise that she had made to herself.

By six she had smoked the whole pack. She threw the final stub to the ground and then turned back to her hut, to face the questions and the concerned looks she had tried to escape for so many years.

**Just a short one there, really to give you guys a bit of an insight to Joanna's mind.**

**A review would be lovely!**

**Currahee**

**Frankie**


	7. The Only Way Is Up

**Sorry guys, but there probably won't be very regular updates over the next few weeks as my exam season is about to start so I have to study :( **

**Keep reading and reviewing and extra special love to all those that do!**

**The Only Way Is Up**

Joanna stood in formation with the rest of Easy. She had gone through the morning ignoring them all completely, until she had started to sober up and realized that one of her knuckles was largely swollen and she needed Roe's help. None of them had asked her any questions other than for the name of the man who had assaulted her, but even so she could sense the concern drip from their pores, and it made her want to scream.

'You people are at the stand of attention!' Sobel's voice growled across the still air. Joanna felt her boys tense and could sense their anger in the way they stood. Joanna had repeatedly refused to give them a name, despite the fact that she had broken her knuckle on his face. Now stood before them was a man with a black eye and a heavily swollen nose.

She couldn't look at him. He made her feel physically sick. She couldn't stop them. The memories of the night before came flooding back, as did the contents of her stomach.

'Who did that?' Sobel yelled.

_Fuck, that was not meant to happen_. Joanna squirmed.

'Ah. The lovely Joanna. Can't quite stomach this can you?' He gestured towards their surroundings. She couldn't stop herself. She vomited violently once more on his shoes. She felt the company stiffen and freeze. All was still.

'Men, go and get changed into your PT kit.' He ordered the men. He then turned to Joanna. 'I want 100 press-ups from you, in your own mess, NOW!' His voice rose to a shriek. Nobody moved but Joanna, who hit the ground and grimaced as she put her weight onto her broken hand. She got to five before she felt Sobel's presence next to her. He watched her do five more and then carefully stepped forward, onto her broken hand and pushed downwards.

She screamed.

She couldn't stop the noise rushing out of her mouth as he ground his boot into her hand. The men were shaking with fury, but where frozen in shock of the outright abuse Sobel was dishing out publically. The first to come to his senses, Bill charged at Sobel and knocked him off his feet. The men drew a close circle around him as Joanna curled up with her hand pressed against her stomach.

'I reckon we should have another day off? What do you think Bull?' Liebgott glanced down at the Captain, smacking his fist into the palm of his hand.

'I reckon so,' Bull nodded in agreement, his stance threatened Sobel to disagree with him.

'Listen up Sobel, you touch our girl again and you won't to live to see the fucking Germans, let a lone fight 'em. Me and the boys are takin' the day off. We're gonna sort out a few things for our lass. You're gonna OK this, and then it's back to trainin' tomorrow. Got it? This never happened.' Bill's voice was low and threatening. They left Sobel no other option but to comply. They broke the circle and went their separate ways, but most headed towards the direction of Joanna. George reached her first and pulled her to her feet by her good arm. He took her hand in his and walked her back to the hut, where he sat in silence with her until the boys arrived. Eugene strapped up her hand and administered her some aspirin.

'Now, you tell me if it hurts Joanie. I don't need you puttin' on a brave face, you're meant to tell me when somethin's wrong, I'm your Doctor.' He squeezed her good hand.

'I've had worse Eugene, but that's a story for another day. Now quit mitherin'.' She gave him her best smile. 'Now I'd feel mighty comfortable if you guys'd quit starin' at me and did somethin' useful. Go on, all of you! A gal needs her beauty sleep.' She tried her best to joke with them, but didn't even raise a smile. They all left her though. They knew that she had barely slept and that she wanted to be left to her thoughts.

When she was sure they were all gone, Joanna curled up under her blanket and began to cry. Once she'd started, she couldn't stop. She cried at her foolishness, at the love her boys had for her, at the love she had for them. She had shown weakness and instead of shying away, they had embraced it as another part of her. She suddenly knew that she had complete and utter trust in these men. They would die for her, and she for them.

She sensed rather than heard the figure next to her bed. She glanced up to see the only face she wanted to see. His heart ached for his girl with the tear stained face, and he felt a huge surge of anger towards the man who had hurt her.

'Room for one more?' he asked quietly.

'As long as you take your shoes off, I don't need any more mess,' she smiled. He kicked off his boots and slipped into the bed next to her. She buried her face in his chest and he wrapped his strong arms around her.

'Keep me safe Bill,' she whispered into his heart.

'Always.' He mumbled into her hair. And she knew he would. She drifted off into a peaceful slumber, free of nightmares and full hope, for although she had hit rock bottom, she knew that she could no longer sink any further.

**A bit of R&R would be lovely**

**Currahee**

**Frankie**


	8. The Lazy Bastards

**Hey guys, long time know see? I'm so sorry, but I've had a lot on my plate! This is just a bit of a filler and I can't promise that updates will be very regular for another couple of weeks, but it is what it is! Love to you all!**

**The Lazy Bastards**

Sobel left Jo alone after the incident. He no longer singled her out or tried to make her crack under his constant bullying. The boys had seen to that. They lost the little respect they had for the petty man, but continued to follow his orders to the letter for they still had a long way to go before they were to become paratroopers.

Jo refused to let her carefully pieced together façade slip again either. Her hand heeled over time a long with her pride, and with each day she became more confident in herself once again. She defied those who thought her weak and she continued to form her strong bonds with her boys. She was close to every single one of them in their own way. Her and the Joe's became inseparable; to find one, you looked for the others. Despite this, it was Nixon – the alcoholic college boy, who nudged her back to her former, feisty self. He knew what she was thinking before she said it and their problems joined them together. In essence, they became the best of friends, without having to express it. They leant on each other and drew support from the fact that they both could not heal their own wounds.

August turned to September, and with October came the tumbling of the leaves and the cool breeze trickling through the cracks in every room. In the blinking of an eye, November was at their nose, and with it the news of the world record set by the Japanese Army. Colonel Sink, naturally, saw this as a personal threat and saw it as his own challenge to beat it. On December 29th Colonel Sink stood before his men, who were holding themselves rigid in an attempt to fight the chill which was squeezing through the seams of their clothes.

'Men, and woman, of the Second Battalion. It has come to my attention that the Japanes Army think they're some kind of bigshot. They have marched 100 miles in 72 hours. D'you know what I say to that lads? The lazy bastards!' this drew a chuckle. 'My army can march 120 miles in that time! Your time at Camp Toccoa is at it's end boys, and so comes the time to learn to jump in Fort Benning. I would like you Second Battalion, of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airbourne, to march there.' He paused, sucking in a deep breath of cool Georgian air. 'Good luck soldiers. Let's show those sons of bitches what real troopers look like!'

The men cheered and saluted their beloved leader. They were young and strong. They were carefree. They were going to show the Japs how it was done with a great big smile on their faces.

XXXXXXXXXX

On the morning of the 1st of December every single man from Dog, Easy and Fox Company began marching towards Fort Benning, Atlanta. Jo was in good spirits. Atlanta would be a chance to forget Sobel and to learn to jump. Sandwiched between the Joes and following George and Bill, she could not feel more relaxed.

That was before it started snowing and she found herself up to her armpits in mud.

'Jesus Christ, I'm freezing my balls off here,' George moaned for the hundredth time.

'You'd have to have them first Luz,' came Jo's quick retort.

'Hey! No need for that! What I would give to be a lady like yourself right now and not have to worry about them… Nah, wait, I take that back, who'd want to be like Joanna?' He turned and stuck his tongue out at her.

'You're just jealous 'cause I'm the good lookin' one round here and I ain't about to let you forget it any time soon.' She flashed him her winning smile.

'Now girly, we all know that if I, Mr George Luz, were a girl, I would be the finest looking broad in the whole of fuckin' America! What d'you say lads?' He glanced around at his buddies.

In chorus the men shouted 'not a fuckin' chance Luz!' and laughed. Bill slapped his helmet and winked at Jo, causing her cheeks to warm slightly, before getting the men back in order. They had a long way to go.

XXXXXXXXXX

By the time the reached Fort Benning, almost two days later, they were half walking – half dragging themselves through the American countryside. Jo reckoned she had a million blisters on her heels and cushioning her toes. Every step was pure agony. All of them slept through the next day and couldn't walk for a week after. They were given two weeks leave to recover.

It was their last day of leave and Joanna woke to the sound of cursing. She raised her head from her pillow and blinked in the sight of Joe Liebgott stumbling around his bed as if in search of something.

'Lieb?' she hissed, trying not to wake anyone else.

'Shit! Sorry Jo, go back to sleep,' came the grumbled reply.

'What'ya lookin' for?' she rose her voice slightly so that it could be heard over the chorus of snores coming from the rest of the men.

'That book I was readin'. I can't find it anywhere,' he lamented.

Jo rolled her eyes. 'You leant it to me ya idiot! Get back into bed, I'm comin' over.' She slipped out of bed and grabbed the book from the floor. Ignoring the throbbing of her still sore feet, she tiptoed across to his bed and slid in next to him. She propped up the pillow behind their backs and placed the book between the,. Out of the corner of her eye she got a glimpse of Joe's surprised face.

'What? You'd think you'd never had a girl in your bed before Joey. Now don't go gettin' any ideas, we're just readin'.' She joked.

'I wouldn't dream of it Joanna,' he gave her a wink and put an arm around her shoulder.

'Now, which bit are you on?' she inquired, leaning into his shoulder after pulling the blankets up to her waist. They spent an hour reading in companionable silence before anyone else woke up. No one questioned the pair, but rose eyebrows in question to one another. Bill, being one of the last to wake, shot Liebgott an angry glare, which was missed by Joanna. He immediately patted her knee and told her he'd had enough, not wanting to start a fight with Wild Bill.

'Oh, you spoil all my fun!' she pouted, then kissed his cheek before springing out of bed. She winced in pain for in her hour of calm, she had forgotten the dull ache in her feet. 'Ah fuck' she grumbled as she hopped towards her own bed. A large hand enveloped her arm and took some of her weight. She grinned up at him cheekily.

'Why thank you Sir William, how gentlemanly of you!'

He merely grunted in reply. Putting his bad mood down to the early morning, Jo's thoughts wandered to the plans for the next day. _Nothing much_ she thought to herself. _Just jumping out of airplanes!_

**You know the drill guys! R&R**

**Currahee**

**Frankie **


	9. The Smile of a Thief's Victim

**So hey guys! I know it's been a couple of weeks, but I'm all yours now, exams have finished! Thanks to everyone who has wished me luck and those who have reviewed, it means so much I can't even tell you. Enjoy.**

**The Smile of a Thief's Victim**

In the blink of an eye Jo found herself sat cross-legged in front of a kind faced instructor. Once again wedged between the Joes her face was contorted into a concentrated half-frown. This she could not afford to mess up. Jumping out of planes was not the her brightest of her ideas, but Jo felt a strange sense of calm as she made a mental checklist of the stages the instructor was throwing at them. Stand. Hook up. Check. Shout and tap. Jump. Simple really.

'Any refusals at the door and you **will** be out of the paratroopers.' The instructor paused and eyed his group expectantly. He seemed to be searching for the fear in the men's eyes and for the tell-tale trickle of sweat of the brow. Yet none of them seemed to be showing anything. Their faces were blank; as a soldier is when he shoots his victim. Fitting really. 'Right gents, and lady, let's get this show on the road.' He clapped his hands together to emphasise his point. Immediately the group snapped out of their trance-like state and jumped to their feet. It didn't take long for them to start punching each other on the shoulder and to crack jokes. From the outside looking in, this group looked like the hardest group of motherfuckers anyone had ever seen, but Jo knew that all this laughing was just a way to shift their nervousness onto each other. It was their coping mechanism. And she was grateful for it was a way for her to sink into the crowd and hide her secret delight in leaping out of a plane.

'Good luck ladies! See ya'll on the ground!' She shouted down the steps before taking her place in the C-47. 'Well, well William! It looks like it's me and you buddy!' She grinned at her friend as he plonked himself down next to her.

'Could ya try to sound less happy over jumping out a perfectly good piece of aircraft Joannie? You're making me jumpy!' His face had paled slightly and he was staring straight forward, as though he was inspecting something of interest on the parallel wall.

'Good job really, 'cause that's what you're gonna be doing pretty soon!' She grinned up at his clenched jaw and nudged him in the ribs with her pointy elbow.

'Dammit Jo, you could puncture a lung with that thing!' He chuckled whilst pinching her arm gently.

The whirring purr of the engines stopped Joanna from replying. She leant forward in excitement and closed her eyes, listening to the coughing of the engine as it came to life beneath them. It sounded like an old man taking the first wheezy breaths of the day, hesitant but with purpose. Relaxing back into her seat she exhaled heavily, suddenly really craving a Lucky Strike. Absentmindedly she stretched her hands into Bill's breast pocket and pulled out a packet of smokes. She relieved one from it's packaging and tapped it purposefully on the cardboard casing before raising it to her mouth. Pursing her lips round it, she offered the pack to Bill.

'You son of a bitch, they're mine!' He spurted, snatching the pack out of her clutches in attempt at anger. She merely winked at him and routed around in his pocket once more, this time in search of a lighter. 'Ha!' he smiled evilly down at her frowning face and pulled the smoke out of her mouth and placed it in his own. He then revealed his lighter's hiding place and persisted to light the cigarette. Before he could inhale Joanna grabbed it an moved it into it's original positioning between her lips. Taking a huge pull, she blew the smoke in his direction, taunting him with the scent of tobacco. 'You'll be the death of me Joanna Derbyshire.' He shook his head from side to side. Smiling she offered him the smoke, which he accepted and inhaled before giving back. They took turns blackening their lungs like this, until the cigarette was burnt to a stub. By this time Bill had forgotten his fear of planes and Joanna her excitement. It was the calm before the storm which was to awake with the words:

'Stand up.' Everyone rose to shaky feet.

'Hook up.' They wobbled to the middle of the plane until they were stood in a straight line facing the back of the plane. The clicks of twelve hooks were heard.

'Equipment.' Each man patted down the person in front and then shouted their number. It came to Jo's turn and she had never felt more relieved to hear the words; 'four ok'. The simplicity of those words meant nothing in any other circumstance, but in that moment they were what her world revolved around. Quickly checking over Bill she shouted 'three ok' and listened to his husky voice as her repeated the same steps.

And then the green light came on.

'GO. GO. GO' One jumped, then two and then it was Bill's turn. Although pale in the face he did not hesitate and flung himself into the welcoming air in an instant. Joanna found herself in the doorway of a plane and she smiled as she took in the great expanse below her. In the flash of a green light she was tumbling uncontrollably towards the earth. The breath rushed out of her lungs as she let out a gasp of bewilderment. She suddenly became hugely aware of the world and it's beauty and it tugged at some emotion that she had never experienced before. In that moment she felt powerful and strong and infinite. She was going to live forever.

She tugged on her parachute string and sighed as she slowed in the air. She could feel the blood rushing around her body could sense the adrenaline coursing through her brain making everything feel like such a thrill. Her head felt clear and whole. Rolling onto the soft grass in some unknown field, Joanna knew that joining the paratroopers was the best decision of her life.

'Oi! Joanie!' She raised her head from the ground to see a friendly figure standing over her.

'Alright Billy boy! See you didn't faint.' She unclipped her chute and stuffed it into it's bag before letting him pull her to her feet.

'I guess I didn't.' And then he smiled that smile. The one that made her tummy do funny things and made everything seem special. It was because she knew that it was her smile. Nobody else's. Hers. She grinned her stupid, lopsided grin and threw her arms around his neck.

'We did it Bill.'

'I know doll.'

**And so there it is. Bit of one on one Bill and Jo stuff there. Updates should be soon :-)**

**Reviews would be beautiful.**

**Curahee**

**Frankie xx**


End file.
